The collector said ban on consumption of beef, which was the staple food of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was affecting their health.

The collector was referring to the ban on consumption of meat of wild boars and pork in the name of religious faiths. (HT File Photo)

A video clipping of a district collector defending consumption of beef and blaming it on the “dirty Brahminical culture” for banning it is going viral in social media in Telangana.

The video clipping shows A Murali, the collector of Jayashankar Bhupalpalli district, making the sensational comment at a rally at the tribal village of Eturu Nagaram on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day on Friday.

The collector said ban on consumption of beef, which was the staple food of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was affecting their health.

“This is a fact. Eating of beef has been our culture for centuries. But later, because of daridrapu (dirty) Brahminical culture, our people were told not to eat beef because it was sin. This is trash. We can eat whatever we had been eating for several centuries to be healthy and fit,” he said.

Murali recalled that when he was working in Mahbubnagar and Ranga Reddy districts, villagers used to tell him that they were not able to eat beef because of ban. “They told me that they had been missing the taste of beef. They complained that when they were eating beef, they were physically strong and were able to do any kind of hard work. After stopping consumption of beef, they said they had become weak,” he said.

The collector was referring to the ban on consumption of meat of wild boars and pork in the name of religious faiths.

“I was told wild boars have been destroying crops in these tribal areas. But I am telling you, you can kill these boars and pigs and happily eat their meat. There is no ban on killing wild boars and the forest department has permitted it. In fact, wild boar meat is a very popular dish in western countries like US,” he pointed out.